Lions For Lambs

We live in interesting times. It was not until many years after the Vietnam War ended that popular films started to address the issues the war raised. When Three Kings was released in 1999 it seemed like an amazingly timely film even though Gulf War One had ended in 1991. Flash forward to the War On Terror (WOT). Now the production cycle has been sped up so much (or maybe the war has gone on way too long) we get to watch fictionalized films that ponder the war while soldiers are still in the field. Lions For Lambs follows it brethren (Syriana, The Kingdom, In the Valley of Elah, Grace Is Gone, Rendition, soon to be released Redacted). Note: though Syriana is not directly about the WOT it is about the real motivation for the war aka OIL. Lions For Lambs is a three-in-one political drama that made me think it might have been more effective as a stage play. We are told the stories of two idealistic soldiers in the field, their former professor who is trying to motivate a student who is content to coast through life and a Senator who is trying to re-recruit a journalist back into the patriotic job of writing propaganda in the place of news in order to start WOT Two against Iran. It's all quite ambitious and though it hits the mark here and there the message is diluted by trying to use such a wide canvas. The film was written by Matthew Michael Carnahan, who also wrote The Kingdom, and directed by Robert Redford who also stars.
Memorable moment: Lt. Finch jumps from the helicopter to help his best friend.

No County for Old Men

I am bit perplexed by this film. Actually it's probably not the film but my reaction to it. Totally forgot the Coen brothers had made it so as I was watching I was curious about the director but only mildly so. It was sharp but not engaging The film's cinematography is very striking right from the get go and the opening narration points us to some seriousness to come. Then the film starts and we plod along. It was a nice plod, until Javier Bardem makes his way on screen and then the film goes into horror overdrive. Maybe that is where my problem is. He's creating a monster on film and everyone else is just mellow as can be. Maybe that's the point? Help me movie I need more exposition! I might watch this again in a few years to see if I have the same reaction. In the meantime the reason to see this film is Javier Bardem. Even with the flowbee haircut he is terrifying and I actually almost had to leave I was so freaked out by him. Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones are very good but they seem to be in a different story. Nice supporting performances from Woody Harrelson, Kelly MacDonald, Garret Dillahunt and Stephen Root. Dillahunt seems to be everywhere I look lately. I am plowing through Deadwood and he's all over that as well as Damages. He's a quirky actor and in "No Country" he plays the drawlin' goofy deputy. I was sure he was gonna die but no he lives to tell the tale. Update 1/17/08...This film has haunted me since I saw it last year so I tip my hat to the Coen's for making a lasting experience.
Memorable moment: Chigurh and the gas station owner.

Control

Though it starts in 1973, this film takes place in two worlds at once (an almost 1950's-like England and the dawn of the new music scene of the 1980's). It's not the story of a culture clash but more a story of a young man's journey into uncharted musical territory. He knows he wants something more than what his immediate world offers. He hears the call in the records he buys but not until he sees the Sex Pistols perform does he understand the power of that siren. In Control we see Ian Curtis trying to be the traditional 9-5 family man during the day and at night a newly evolving lead singer of a cutting edge band. I am not very familiar with Curtis or Joy Division (shamefully so), so as a blank slate I wasn't making comparisons between the real and the portrayed Curtis. That said, Sam Riley is engrossing as the cinematic Ian Curtis. He nicely moves the man from newbie singer to struggling icon. As his wife, Samantha Morton is terrific. The cinematography is striking throughout the film. The black & white canvas is used to great effect along with stark framing of shots. I loved seeing Ian and Debby huddling in less than half of the screen which was dominated by brick and street. In production choices this film is the antithesis of the colorful, hyper-real 24 Hour Party People which takes place in the same place and time. My only complaint was the sudden use of narration by Ian half way through the film. Up to then the director had simply used visuals, dialog, lyrics and music to offer an inner life (and quite effectively so). Other than that I found this film very compelling and engrossing.
Memorable moment: Debby confronts Ian about his affair.